Richard Pryor is gone from this earth..

But his ground-breaking humor lives on. He died tonight of a heart attack at the age of 65, and i for one will always remember his pioneering spirit. He never apologized for his persona or his comedy. He was fond of bringing up that he was uneducated but yet he was appreciated by people in all walks of life.

Steve Martin said: By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form,"

In the 70's and 80's Pryor one of Hollywood's highest paid stars, and he was one of the first black performers with enough leverage to cut his own deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain Prize for humor in 1998. He said in a statement that he was proud that, "like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people's hatred." This was one of his most shining moments and one he always cherished.

Like Lenny Bruce, he was a comedian that set the stage for those that followed him. God bless you Richard, may you be at peace now, your demons silenced. Pryor was only 65 when he died Saturday night of what his publicist termed a "heart attack".